


acta non verba

by plastromeme



Category: Half-Life, Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware, Half-Life but the AI is Self Aware
Genre: AI!Gordon, AI!Gordon Freeman, Artificial Intelligence, Benrey is a simp, Gordon Glitches A Lot, HLVR AI, HLVRAI, M/M, Multiplayer au, Neo Pronouns, Nonbinary Benrey, Nonbinary Character, Role Reversal, Short One Shot, Sunkist appears briefly, au where the everyone but gordon is a player, fanart in the fic, tho that could change if people are interested?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24124033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plastromeme/pseuds/plastromeme
Summary: Actions, not words.Gordon doesn't like the idea of being left behind. He takes it into his own hands.
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman, Bubby/Dr. Coomer (Half-Life)
Comments: 25
Kudos: 318





	acta non verba

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for clicking on this fic! This au was made by the lovely thecrypidcorvid on tumblr. I don't really plan on continuing this, but if people really want me to, I will. 
> 
> Gordon speaks with a glitched voice. This is indicated by dashes the words he speaks. If anyone uses text to speech and needs a version without the dashes, let me know and I will make a version of it. 
> 
> Without further ado, here is the fic.

The others have logged off already, leaving parting words on their Discord call before it was just Benrey and the AI. As much as the others prodded at xer crush on Gordon, xe were always left alone with him at the end of their session. Xe supposed xe should enjoy it, but...

Xe looked at Gordon. The poor AI was already starting to glitch, looking at the ragdolled forms of their companions ‘sleeping’ with an anxious face. Benrey always felt a little bad about leaving him alone, but surely it couldn’t have been that bad? They were never gone longer than a day, and spent hours upon hours playing the game. 

Xe thumbed for the menu button on xer controllers. Now that xe thought about it, they probably only had one more session left of this game. Xe looked back up at Gordon. A pity, really, xe thought to xerself. Xe were  _ really _ starting to like Gordon--in a way one probably shouldn’t for a fictional character, especially one that had a way to actually  _ think _ . Still, the crush hit hard and xe couldn't imagine playing this game without the AI stressed from xer group's antics. 

“Goodnight, Gordon,” xe said as xe did every time xe logged off. 

Xer thumb finally landed on the menu button, and began to press down--

“Wait!” Gordon all but shouted, and xer head snapped to him. 

He looked awful in a kind of monstrous sexy way. His hands were shaking, and those damn glitch boxes were pouring off him like a Twilight vampire in the sunlight. His hair was a mess, and not in the cute mess way he usually presented with. If xe wasn’t just tired from their six hour session, xe would have said his teeth looked sharp enough to easily draw blood (and wasn’t  _ that _ a thought). Xe’d never seen the AI so nervous. 

“You’re lea-ving again are-n’t you?” Gordon asked as he came closer. 

Benrey grinned nervously. “Yeah, we’re just-- I’m just going to get some sleep, with the others,” he said. 

Gordon frowned, and the grin slipped off xer face. He opened his mouth, an endless stream of glitches pouring out, before closing it again. He broke their intense (and, frankly, kind of hot) staring match, looking at the others’ still bodies. “Are you go-ing to lea-ve fo-rev-er? I l-i-ke you, Bar-n-rey. I don’t want to l-o-se you.” 

He turned back towards xem. A hand reached up to xer face, and Gordon began to close the gap. ‘ _ Oh no _ ,’ Benrey thought to xerself, ‘ _ how am I supposed to kiss in VR? _ ’ 

Gordon got closer, and--oh. He gave xem a hug. While a bit awkward for xem, xe were familiar with the action and managed to give a pretty good hug, xe thought. 

“I like you, too, Gordon,” xe said, looking up at the ceiling as the glitches increased tenfold. 

\-----

“We won…” Bubby heaved, out of breath like the rest of the group. 

“We won!” Harold repeated with a grin, and pulled Bubby into a deep kiss. 

Benrey looked away, used to their affection, and yet still so curious how they could easily make the kiss look alright in VR. Just another quirk of theirs, xe supposed. Xe let their eyes wander. 

Tommy was off to the side, crouching and head moving side to side rapidly. From the sounds he made on the Discord call, he must have been celebrating with Sunkist. 

Gordon was--xe did a double take. Gordon hadn’t moved since the final boss was defeated, and yet was completely glitchless. Being completely glitchless was rare these last couple sessions, and Benrey broke off from the group to see what was going on. 

“The game is over…” Gordon said as xe took place by his side. 

“Yeah…” xe agreed, kind of creeped out the AI hadn’t even glitched in speech. 

He wouldn’t look at xem. “You’re going to leave, now.” It wasn't a question. 

“Yes…?” Xe said again, confused but remembering their group had planned a movie night for celebrating that night. 

“Then you leave me no choice.” 

“What-?” Xe asked, reaching a hand towards him. 

Gordon jerked away, spinning to glare at xem. Benrey cringed backwards; it was a totally different look than the ones the two had shared since last night. Xer eyes found a familiar spot behind Gordon’s shoulders, heart dropping. 

“Harold, I can’t find the menu button--” Benrey vaguely heard Bubby say behind him. 

“For 2 PlayCoins™ I can tell you where they are.” 

“Oh, haha--”

“Sunkist? Where’d you go, girl?”

Benrey’s eyes widened as machine guns began to solidify as xe watched. “Guys,” xe rasped out, taking a step back. 

“Bubby, it appears I cannot find the menu button.” 

“Let’s see if--Tommy, could you come over here?”

“What’s going on? What happened to Sunkist?”

Gordon began to glitch, slowly at first and then all at once. “I’ll m-ake it s-o yo-u ca-n ne-v-er le-ave  _ ag-ai-n _ .” He growled, guns spinning. 

“GUYS!” Xe yelled this time as the first bullet ripped through xer arm and another hit xer bulletproof vest. As xe brought up xer speciality move (a riot shield nicknamed Passport), xe could only think of one thing; xer arm  _ hurt _ . 

  
The others yelled. Gordon put on a snarling grin. “ _ Let the game begin _ .”


End file.
